Siderail and Control Unit Therefor

ABSTRACT

An occupant support apparatus  10  includes a frame  12  and an occupant support deck  14  above which an occupant is supportable. A siderail  22  has a raised position in which at least a portion of the siderail is higher in elevation than the support deck. The siderail includes a recess  42 . The apparatus also includes a control unit  44  having user inputs configured to be engaged by a user. The unit is movable relative to the siderail between a first position in which at least a majority of the patient control unit is received in the recess and a second position in which at least a majority of the unit resides outside the recess and extends past a siderail perimeter. In one embodiment the unit has an upper portion  50 , and a base. The upper portion is pivotable about an axis relative to the base and is separable therefrom.

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/402,013 entitled “Siderail and Control Unit Therefor, filed on Mar.11, 2009 which claims the benefit of provisional U.S. patent application60/036,368 entitled “Siderail with Ergonomic Patient Pendant, SoftInsert, and Protected Switching” filed on Mar. 13, 2008, the contents ofall of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The subject matter of the present application relates to patient supportapparatuses, such as hospital beds, and particularly to siderails ofpatient support apparatuses. More particularly, the subject matter ofthe present application relates to patient and caregiver control unitsthat are coupled to siderails and that have user inputs which are usedto control functions of the associated patient support apparatus. Thesubject matter of the present application also relates to devices thatcushion patient contact with hard surfaces of siderails.

Patient support apparatuses, such as hospital beds, stretchers, and thelike, typically have a number of siderails that are raised to prevent apatient from falling off of a mattress of the patient support apparatus.Some hospital beds and stretchers have patient controls and caregivercontrols on the siderails so that patients and caregivers can use thecontrols to control functions of the patient support apparatus and/or tocontrol other functions of other devices such as room lights,televisions, a radios, and so forth. Depending upon a patient's size orcondition, the patient controls can sometimes be difficult for thepatient to reach or use.

The caregiver controls on the siderails of patient support apparatusesare typically located on the outside portion of the siderail that facesaway from the patient. The caregiver controls may include push buttonsor membrane switches or similar such switches. When a caregiver leanson, or otherwise comes into contact with, a siderail of a patientsupport apparatus while caring for a patient, there is a possibilitythat the caregiver may inadvertently contact one or more of thecaregiver controls thereby actuating a function which the caregiver isnot intending to actuate, such as raising or lowering a head section ofa hospital bed.

Siderails of hospital beds and stretchers are oftentimes constructed ofhard plastic moldings or shells which are fastened in place over metalsiderail frames. Accordingly, siderails are fairly hard structures whenbumped into by a patient's knees or elbows, or any other portion of apatient for that matter. There are various siderail pads or similaraccessories which can be purchased and attached to siderails to cushioninadvertent impacts by patients with siderails. However, such pads mayfit onto siderails of only a particular shape and the pads have to bestored separately when not in use.

SUMMARY

The present invention comprises a patient support apparatus, or acomponent thereof, such as a siderail, that has any one or more of thefeatures listed in the appended claims and/or any one or more of thefollowing features, which alone or in any combination may comprisepatentable subject matter:

A patient support apparatus may comprise a frame which, in turn, mayinclude a patient support deck above which a patient is supported.Typically, some sort of mattress is provided on the patient supportdeck, but it is not uncommon for frames of patient support apparatuses,such as hospital beds, stretchers, and the like, to be made and soldwithout such mattresses. Thus, according to this disclosure a mattressis considered to be an optional component of a patient supportapparatus, not required.

The patient support apparatus may have a siderail coupled to the frame.The siderail may have a raised position in which at least a portion ofthe siderail is higher in elevation than the patient support deck toprovide a barrier inhibiting a patient from exiting off the patientsupport deck. The siderail may be movable to a lowered positionpermitting the patient to exit the patient support deck withoutobstruction from the siderail.

The siderail may comprise a top rail portion and an end rail portion.The end rail portion may include a recess. The patient support apparatusmay further have a patient control unit which, in turn, may have userinputs configured to be engaged by the patient to control functions ofthe patient support apparatus. The patient control unit may be coupledto the siderail and may be movable relative to the siderail between afirst position in which at least a majority of the patient control unitis received in the recess of the end rail portion and a second positionin which at least a majority of the patient control unit is situatedoutside the recess and extends upwardly with respect to the top railportion.

The patient control unit may slide generally vertically within therecess when moving between the first and second positions. At least afirst portion of the patient control unit may be pivotable about agenerally vertical axis when the patient control unit is in the secondposition. The patient control unit may include a base portion thatremains in the recess when the patient control unit is in the secondposition. The first portion of the patient control unit may be pivotableabout the generally vertical axis relative to the base unit and the userinputs may be carried by the first portion of the patient control unit.One or more detent mechanisms may be provided on a bottom surface of thefirst portion and/or on an upper surface of the top and/or end railportions such that when the first portion of the patient control unit ispivoted about the vertical axis after the patient control unit has beenmoved to the second position, the one or more detent mechanisms willtend to retain the first portion at selected angular orientations suchas plus or minus 45 degrees and/or plus or minus 90 degrees from theneutral position.

The user inputs of the patient control unit may be accessible to thepatient when the control unit is in both the first and second positions.However, the patient control unit and the recess may be configured suchthat the patient control unit may be removed from the recess, flippedaround, and then reinserted back into the recess in an orientation inwhich the user inputs are inaccessible to the patient. Thus, the patientcontrol unit may be inserted into the recess so that the user inputsface generally toward the patient support deck through an open front ofthe recess or so that the user inputs face generally away from thepatient support deck toward a generally vertical wall of the siderailthat bounds the back of the recess. When the patient control unit isremoved from the recess altogether, it may held by the patient away fromthe siderail.

A cord may extend from the patient control unit and may couple to awinder carried by the siderail. The winder may be operable toautomatically wind up the slack of the cord when the patient controlunit is returned to the recess. The cord may include one or moreelectrical conductors through which signals regarding which of the userinputs are being used by the patient are provided to a controller of thepatient support apparatus. The patient control unit may comprise anelongated hand-held pendant and the recess may comprise a verticallyoriented elongated recess that is substantially open at its top andfront and substantially closed at its sides, bottom, and back.

It is contemplated by this disclosure that other types of patientsupport apparatuses, such as chairs may be outfitted with a similar typeof recess and patient control unit arrangement. For example, an armrestof a chair may be provided with a recess that permits an associatedpatient control unit to be moved substantially vertically within therecess between raised and lowered positions, with the user inputs of thecontrol unit being situated above the arm rest when the control unit isin the raised position. This type of recess may also be provided on anoverbed table, such as in a housing of the overbed table from which atable extends in a cantilevered manner. When the control unit is in theraised position, the user inputs may be situated above the table of theoverbed table.

The siderail may have a main siderail body and a flexible panel coupledto the main siderail body. The flexible panel may be less rigid than themain siderail body so as to flex more readily than the main siderailbody when contacted inadvertently by a patient that is supported abovethe patient support deck. The main siderail body may comprise a topportion, a bottom portion, a head end portion and a foot end portion,such that, in some embodiments, a large opening may be defined by thetop, bottom, head end, and foot end portions of the main siderail body.At least a portion of the flexible panel may be situated within thelarge opening. Head end and foot end portions of the flexible panel maybe coupled to the main siderail body and a middle portion of theflexible panel may bow outwardly toward the patient support deck.

The head end and foot end portions of the flexible panel may be coupledto the main siderail body and the middle portion of the flexible panelmay bowing out of the large opening and toward the patient support deck.The flexible panel may have a top edge that may be situated below, andthat may be spaced-apart from, the top portion of the main siderailbody. At least a portion of a bottom edge of the middle portion of theflexible panel may be situated above, and may be spaced-apart from, thebottom portion of the main siderail portion.

The flexible panel may have a plurality of holes provided therein. Theflexible panel may be translucent and may be able to be lit up by atleast one light source. Thus, the flexible panel may be made of amaterial that provides a light pipe type of effect. The at least onelight sources may comprise, for example, at least one light emittingdiode. The at least one light source may be operable to light up theflexible panel in a first color, green for example, and to light theflexible panel in a second color, yellow or red for example. The lightsource may be a single LED that is operable to shine light of differentcolors, such as green and amber or green and red.

The patient support apparatus may also have a caregiver control unit. Insome embodiments, the main siderail body may have a top portion and thecaregiver control unit may extend downwardly from the top portion. Inother embodiments, the main siderail body may have a bottom portion andthe caregiver control unit may extend upwardly from the bottom portion.In each of these embodiments, the flexible panel may be configured tobow away from the caregiver control unit and toward the patient supportdeck.

According to this disclosure, a patient support apparatus may comprise aframe, a siderail coupled to the frame, and a caregiver control unitcoupled to the siderail. The caregiver control unit may have a housingwith recessed grooves. The caregiver control unit may have user inputsassociated with the grooves such that areas of the housing adjacent thegrooves inhibit inadvertent activation of the user inputs.

The recessed grooves each may have a substantially vertical orientation.Each of the recessed grooves may be shallower at end regions of therespective groove as compared to a middle region of the respectivegroove. The user inputs may comprise, for example, field disturbanceswitches and/or capacitive switches. The shape and orientation of therecessed grooves, along with the types of switches used, may facilitateeasy cleaning of the caregiver control unit by allowing for wipe downcleaning through the recessed grooves. The caregiver control unit maycomprise a graphical display screen carried by the housing above therecessed grooves.

The siderail may comprise a top rail defining a generally horizontalaxis. The caregiver control unit may be coupled to the top rail and maybe pivotable about the generally horizontal axis. The siderail maycomprise a bottom portion and an upwardly protruding portion situatedabout midway between a head end and foot end of the bottom portion. Acavity may be provided in the upwardly protruding portion and in thebottom portion. The cavity may be sized to receive the caregiver controlunit therein. An upper portion of the caregiver control unit may bepivotably coupled to an upper region of the upwardly protruding portionfor pivotable movement about a generally horizontal axis such that thecaregiver control unit is movable between a storage position within thecavity and a use position extending out of the cavity.

Additional features, which alone or in combination with any otherfeature(s), such as those listed above, may comprise patentable subjectmatter and will become apparent to those skilled in the art uponconsideration of the following detailed description of variousembodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the embodimentsas presently perceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanyingfigures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a patient support apparatus showing apatient control unit in a raised position relative to a siderail of thepatient support apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the patient supportapparatus of FIG. 1 showing the patient control unit moved to a loweredposition and situated within a recess provided in an end rail portion ofthe siderail;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 2, showing the patientcontrol unit moved generally vertically upwardly in the recess to theraised position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 3, showing an upperportion of the patient control unit being pivotable relative to a baseportion of the patient control unit about a generally vertical axis whenthe patient control unit is in the raised position;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the siderail with the patientcontrol unit in the raised position showing a cord extending from abottom of the base portion of the control unit to a winder (in phantom)carried by the siderail;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 4, showing the patientcontrol unit removed from the recess altogether and lying on a mattressof the patient support apparatus;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the patient support apparatus of FIG. 1,as viewed from another vantage point, showing a caregiver control unitextending downwardly from a top rail of the siderail and showing aflexible panel extending from a head end portion of the siderail to afoot end portion of the siderail, with part of a middle portion of theflexible panel being situated behind the caregiver control unit;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a front of the patient controlunit;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view, similar to FIG. 8, showing theupper portion of the patient control unit pivoted relative to the baseportion of the patient control unit;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a back of the patient controlunit;

FIG. 11 is perspective view of another embodiment of a siderail showinga caregiver control unit housing extending upwardly from a bottom railportion of the siderail and showing a flexible panel with its head andfoot end portions situated within a large opening of the siderail andshowing a middle portion of the flexible panel shielding part of thecaregiver control unit from view;

FIG. 12 is an end view of the siderail of FIG. 11 showing the middleregion of the flexible panel bowed outwardly out of the large opening ofthe siderail;

FIG. 13A is a perspective of the siderail of FIG. 11 from anothervantage point showing the caregiver control unit having a set ofrecessed grooves beneath a graphical display screen of the caregivercontrol unit;

FIG. 13B is a cross sectional view, taken along line 13B-13B of FIG.13A, showing that each of the recessed grooves is generallysemi-circularly concave for ergonomic receipt of the tip of acaregiver's finger which is sensed by user inputs that are associatedwith each of the recessed grooves;

FIG. 13C is a cross section view, taken along line 13C-13C of FIG. 13A,showing one of the recessed grooves being shallower in depth at theupper and lower ends of the groove than in the middle region of thegroove;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 13A, showing thecaregiver control unit being pivoted out of a cavity of the siderail toa use position having the graphical display screen and recessed groovesfacing generally upwardly for easier use by a caregiver;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged perspective view of the siderail of FIGS. 1-7;and

FIG. 16 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 15, showing the caregivercontrol unit pivoted relative to the top rail portion of the siderail toa use position having the graphical display screen facing generallyupwardly for easier use by a caregiver.

FIGS. 17-18 are a partially cut-away schematic perspective view and aschematic side elevation view showing a locking device for holding thecontrol unit in an intermediate position.

FIG. 19 is a side elevation view of the control unit partially brokenaway to show a pin connection between the upper and base portions of theunit.

FIG. 20 is a view taken substantially in the direction 20-20 of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 is a view similar to FIG. 19 showing a spring connection.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing the control unit in the context ofan alternative style siderail.

FIGS. 23-25 are perspective views showing a control unit with a hook.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing the control unit of FIGS. 23-25hooked to a siderail.

FIGS. 27-28 are perspective views showing a control unit with a clip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A patient support apparatus 10 includes a frame 12 which, in turn,includes a patient support deck 14 which supports a mattress 16 as shownin FIG. 1. Mattress 16 is a foam mattress in some embodiments and is anair mattress in other embodiments. It is contemplated by this disclosurethat mattress 16 may have any number of different types of supportelements and/or layers which are suitable for supporting a patient.Illustrative patient support apparatus 10 is a hospital bed. However,the teachings of this disclosure are applicable to other types ofpatient support apparatuses such as stretchers, gurneys, wheeled chairs,and the like. Patient support apparatus 10 is sometimes referred toherein a bed 10 or hospital bed 10. As is the case with many hospitalbeds, bed 10 has casters 28 at the corner regions of base frame 20.

Patient support deck 14 includes a number of deck sections. In someembodiments, for example, deck 14 has three sections such a head or backsection, a seat/thigh section, and a foot section. In other embodiments,deck 14 has four sections such as a head or back section, a seat sectiona thigh section, and a foot section. In still other embodiments, deckhas only two sections and in further embodiments, deck 14 has more thanfour deck sections.

As is well know in the art, and depending upon the number of decksections, bed 10 includes an appropriate number of powered drivers (notshown), such as electric motors, linear actuators, hydraulic actuators,pneumatic actuators, and the associated components (e.g., circuitry,linkages, pumps, reservoirs, compressors, etc.), to impart movement toassociated deck sections to place deck 14 into a variety of positions.Illustrative bed 10 also includes an elevation adjustment mechanism (notshown) to raise, lower, and tilt an upper frame 18 of frame 12 relativeto a base frame 20 of frame 12. The elevation adjustment mechanism alsoincludes powered drivers, such as those mentioned above along with theassociated components.

See U.S. Pat. No. 7,296,312, which is hereby incorporated herein by thisreference, for an example of beds that use linear actuators andassociated components to articulate deck sections into differentpositions and to raise, lower, and tilt an upper frame relative to abase frame. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,548, which is hereby incorporatedherein by this reference, for an example of a bed that uses hydraulicactuators and associated components to articulate deck sections intodifferent positions and to raise, lower, and tilt an upper framerelative to a base frame.

Bed 10 has a plurality of siderails 22 that are coupled to frame 12.Siderails 22 are coupled to upper frame 18 and/or to one or more decksections of deck 14. Only one siderail 22 is shown in FIG. 1, it beingunderstood that, in practice, bed 10 has at least one additional similarsiderail 22 on an opposite side of bed. The siderail shown in FIG. 1 isnear a head end 24 of bed 10. Additional siderails may also be providednear a foot end 26 of bed 10 on opposite of mattress 16. Each siderail22 is movable between a raised position, as shown in FIG. 1, and alowered position (not shown). In the raised position, at least a portionof the siderail 22 is higher in elevation than patient support deck 14and the mattress 16 to provide a barrier inhibiting a patient fromexiting the bed 10. When the siderails 22 are in the lowered position,the patient is able to exit the bed 10 without obstruction from thesiderails 22. A linkage mechanism 25, shown in FIG. 7, is provided tocontrol the movement of the siderails 22 between the raised and loweredpositions and to releasably lock the siderails 22 in respective raisedpositions. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,073,220; 6,779,209; and6,182,310 for examples of linkage mechanisms similar to mechanism 25 andsee U.S. Pat. No. 3,932,903 for an example of an alternative linkagemechanism. Each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,073,220; 6,779,209; 6,182,310; and3,932,903 are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Siderail 22 includes a main siderail body 30 having a top rail portion32, a bottom rail portion 34, a head end rail portion 36, and a foot endrail portion 38 as shown best in FIG. 5. Rail portions 32, 34, 36, 38are interconnected and thus, in the illustrative example, main siderailbody 30 serves as a peripheral frame structure having a fairly largeopening 40 therethrough. End rail portion 38 has a recess 42 which issized and configured to receive a patient control unit 44 therein.Patient control unit 44 has user inputs 46, shown generically in FIG. 4,which are configured to be engaged by the patient to control functionsof the patient support apparatus 10. For example, user inputs 46 may beused by the patient to move the various deck sections of deck 14 todifferent positions, to raise, lower and tilt frame 16. In someembodiments, user inputs 46 may be used by the patient to control roomlighting, a television, a radio and to place a nurse call to a nursecall system. Thus, in such embodiments, user inputs 46 are used toprovide signals via appropriate circuitry and communication links (wiredand/or wireless) to devices and equipment that are or are not includedas part of bed 10.

Patient control unit 44 is coupled to siderail 22 and is received inrecess 42 for generally vertical movement relative to the siderail 22between a first or lowered position in which the majority, if not all,of the patient control unit 44 is received in the recess 42 of the endrail portion 38, as shown in FIG. 2, and a second or raised position inwhich a majority of the patient control unit 44 is situated outside therecess 42 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3-5. If desired, a detent, lockingmechanism or friction fit may be employed to hold the unit in one ormore intermediate positions between the first and second positions. Forexample, FIGS. 17-18 show a siderail 22 with a slot 149 bordering oneside of the recess 42. A plastic latch 150 includes a main body 151vertically aligned with the slot and a slender, flexible finger 152. Themain body includes a ledge 153 and a shoulder 155. The latch ispivotable about axis 154. As illustrated, the latch intrudes into therecess 42 so that a control unit 44 can rest on the ledge. To lower theunit 44 further into the recess, a user first presses the main body ofthe latch into the slot, causing the latch to rotate about axis 154(clockwise as seen in the illustrations) and then slides the controlunit 44 vertically lower in the recess. The rotation of the latch bringsfinger 152 into contact with an interior wall 156 of the siderailcausing the finger to deflect and exert a spring force tending tocounterrotate the latch back in the opposite (counterclockwise)direction. The counterrotation is resisted by the side of the controlunit, which now occupies at least the portion of the recess neighboringthe slot. When the control unit is moved vertically upwardly above theelevation of the ledge, the spring force exerted by the finger rotatesthe main body of the latch back into the recess where it can support thecontrol unit. The shoulder 155 contacts interior wall surface 156 toprevent over-rotation of the latch When unit 44 is in the raisedposition, unit 44 extends upwardly with respect to the top rail portion32. That is, a large portion of unit 44 is situated at a higherelevation than top rail portion 32. By allowing unit 44 to move to theraise position, the user inputs 46 are easier for some patients to reachbecause such patients may find that the user inputs 46 are too low fortheir liking when unit 44 is in the lowered position.

Patient control unit 44 slides generally vertically within the recess 42when moving between the first and second positions. End rail portion 38has a slight lip, ridge, or overhang 48 near the opposite sides of theopen front of recess 42 as shown in FIG. 5. Lips 48 retain unit 44within recess and prevent unit 44 from falling out of the open front ofrecess 42 when unit 44 is in the lowered position. Unit 44 includes afirst or upper portion 50 and a base portion 52 as shown in FIGS. 8-10.Referring to FIGS. 19-20, the upper portion and base are pivotablylinked together by, for example, a rigid connector pin 170 whose axis172 is colinear with a control unit pivot axis 54. Alternatively, theconnection may be one that, in addition to permitting the abovedescribed pivotability, also permits the upper portion 50 (and the pivotaxis) to deflect longitudinally and laterally relative to the base 52.As seen in FIG. 21, an example of such a connection is a coil spring 178extending between the upper and base portions with its undeflected axis180 colinear with pivot axis 54. Because the perimeter of the spring cancollect dirt and can be difficult to clean thoroughly, a flexible sleeve182 circumscribes the spring. The sleeve is less likely to collect dirtand is easier to clean. User inputs 46 are carried by upper portion 50.Thus, upper portion 50 of unit 44 is on the order of 3 to 5 times largerthan base portion 52.

Base portion 52 remains in the recess 42 when the patient control unit44 is in the raised position, whereas the upper portion 50 is situatedoutside, and above, recess 42 when unit 44 is in the raised position.First portion 50 of the patient control unit 44 is pivotable about agenerally vertical axis 54 when the patient control unit is in theraised position as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 9. When unit 44 is in thelowered position in recess 42, front, back and side surfaces 56, 58, 60of upper portion 50 are aligned, and are substantially coplanar, withfront, back and side surfaces 56′, 58′, 60′ of base portion. When unit44 is moved to the raised position and upper portion 50 of unit ispivoted about axis 54, surfaces 56, 58, 60 of upper portion 50 are nolonger aligned with surfaces 56′, 58′, 60′ of base portion 50 such thatpart of upper portion 50 is situated over and above an upper surface ofend rail portion 38 and/or top rail portion 32 (depending upon how onementally pictures the boundary between rail portions 32, 38 of mainsiderail body 30.

When the control unit is moved to the raised position, it may beinadvertantly bumped by the occupant of the bed or by a nearbynon-occupant. If the upper portion 50 and base 52 are connected by arigid pivotable connection, the inadvertant bump might break theconnection. However a more compliant pivotable connection such as thecoil spring 178 described above can withstand the bump without breaking.

In some embodiments, one or more detent mechanisms (not shown) areprovided on a bottom surface of the first portion 50 and/or on an uppersurface of the top and/or end rail portions 32, 38 such that when thefirst portion 50 of the patient control unit is pivoted about thevertical axis 54 after the patient control unit has been moved to theraised position, the one or more detent mechanisms will tend to retainthe first portion 50 at selected angular orientations such as plus orminus 45 degrees and/or plus or minus 90 degrees from the neutralposition (i.e., the position in which surfaces 56, 58, 60 are alignedwith surfaces 56′, 58′, 60′). In other embodiments, one or more detentmechanisms are provided on a bottom surface of upper portion 50 and anupper surface 62, shown in FIG. 9, of base portion 52. Such detentmechanisms may include, for example, a spring loaded ball of a moldedprojection that projects from one of the surfaces and that is receivedin a pocket formed in the other of the surfaces. In still otherembodiments, a pivot shaft or other pivot mechanism that couplesportions 50, 52 of unit 44 together may include a detent mechanism orother type of indexing mechanism that has a tendency to hold portion 50in one or more misaligned orientations relative to base portion 52. Anexample of such a mechanism is seen in FIGS. 19-20 where pivot pin 170is crenelated along part of its perimeter to provide a series of notches186 and teeth 188. A plunger 190 is urged into contact with the pin by aspring 192. The plunger projects into one of the notches 186 to maintainthe relative orientation of portions 50, 52. If a user applies atwisting force to the upper portion, one of the teeth pushes the plungertoward the spring to allow portion 50 to pivot relative to base 52. Theplunger then snaps into the next adjacent notch to maintain the neworientation. A pair of stops 192 limits the relative orientation ofportions 50, 52.

A cord 64 extends from the patient control unit 44 to a portion of thebed such as the frame or siderail to tether the unit to the bed.Alternatively, the cord may couple to a winder 66 carried by thesiderail 22 within bottom rail portion 34 as shown in FIG. 5 (inphantom). The winder 66 is spring biased or otherwise operable toautomatically wind up the slack of the cord 64 when the patient controlunit is returned to the recess 42. The spring bias of winder 66, actingthrough cord 64, firmly seats unit 44 in the raised position when upperportion 50 is misaligned with base portion 52 and also firmly seats unit44 against an upwardly facing ledge surface 68 at the bottom of recess42 when unit 44 is in the lowered position. An optional lockingmechanism, such as a detent mechanism, retractable pin, movable latch,and the like, may be provided, if desired, to releasably lock baseportion 52 in position in the recess 42 when unit 44 is in the raisedposition. If such an optional locking mechanism is provided, then unit44 is able to remain in the raised position without the need to misalignupper portion 50 relative to base portion 52. In the illustrativeexample, unit 44 is removable from the recess 42 altogether, as shown inFIG. 6, and can be held by the patient to operate the user inputs 46.Alternatively, the control unit can be configured so that the upperportion is separable from the base, irrespective of whether the upperportion and the base are connected by a rigid connection such as pin 170or by a more compliant connection such as coil spring 178. When soconfigured it is anticipated, although not necessary, that the basewould remain trapped in the recess even when the upper portion isseparated from the base.

In some embodiments, cord 64 includes one or more electrical conductorsthrough which signals regarding which of the user inputs 46 are beingused by the patient are provided to a controller (not shown) of thepatient support apparatus 10. However, this need not be the case if unit44 is provided with wireless communication capability for wirelesstransmission of signals to the controller. In such a wirelessembodiment, the cord 64 may simply serve as a tether to keep unit 44from being separated from bed 10 or may be omitted altogether. In theillustrative example, the patient control unit 44 is an elongatedhand-held pendant and the recess 42 is a vertically oriented elongatedrecess that is substantially open at its top and front and substantiallyclosed at its sides, bottom, and back.

In some embodiments, including the illustrative embodiment, unit 44 isslender enough to be held by the patient in a single hand and to haveuser inputs 46 engaged by the fingers of the same hand. This is anadvantage over some prior art user control units which, due to theirsize, require the patient to use both hands to hold and operate the unitwhen the unit is not otherwise attached to the siderail of the bed. Theillustrative unit 44 has a grip recess 69 which is sized and shaped toreceive a patient's finger so facilitate moving the unit 44 from thelowered position to the raised position.

While the user inputs of the patient control unit 44 may be accessibleto the patient when the control unit 44 is in both the first and secondpositions, in the illustrative embodiment, the patient control unit 44and the recess 42 are configured such that the patient control unit 44is able to be removed from the recess 42, flipped around, and thenreinserted back into the recess 42 in an orientation in which the userinputs 46 are inaccessible to the patient. Thus, the patient controlunit 44 is insertable into the recess 42 in a first orientation havingthe user inputs 46 facing generally toward the patient support deck 14through the open front of the recess 44 or in a second orientationhaving the user inputs 46 facing generally away from the patient supportdeck 14 toward a generally vertical wall 70 of the siderail 22 thatbounds the back of the recess 42.

It is contemplated by this disclosure that other types of patientsupport apparatuses, such as chairs may be outfitted with a similar typeof recess and patient control unit arrangement. For example, an armrestof a chair may be provided with a recess that permits an associatedpatient control unit to be moved substantially vertically within therecess between raised and lowered positions, with the user inputs of thecontrol unit being situated above the arm rest when the control unit isin the raised position. This type of recess may also be provided on anoverbed table, such as in a housing of the overbed table from which atable extends in a cantilevered manner. When the control unit is in theraised position, the user inputs may be situated above the table of theoverbed table.

Although the control unit 44 is shown in the context of a flexible panelsiderail described in more detail below, the recess 42 can be providedin siderails having other configurations. One example is a moretraditional, non-flexible siderail 22′ shown in FIG. 22. In addition,although the exemplary unit has a base 52 and an upper portion pivotablerelative to the base, the unit may be constructed as a one piece(non-pivotable) unit that can be moved between a first position in whicha majority of the unit is received in the recess and a second positionin which at least part of the unit resides outside the recess andextends past the perimeter of the siderail and can also be positioned atintermediate positions between the first and second positions.

FIGS. 23-26 show another embodiment of a control unit 44 having a base52 and an upper portion 50 pivotably connected to the base. The unit 44has a front surface 56 and a back surface 58 with a pocket 60. The userinputs are on the front surface. The control unit 44 of FIGS. 23-26 alsoincludes a hook 202 comprised of a base leg 204 and a distal leg 206.The distal leg is at a fixed orientation relative to the base leg. Thehook partially defines a spatial region 210 whose perimeter has a shapeapproximately complementary to the cross sectional shape of the siderailwhen viewed by an observer looking in the longitudinal direction (e.g.from the head end toward the foot end of the bed). As used herein, theshape is approximately complementary to the cross sectional shape of thesiderail if the unit can be satisfactorily hung on the siderail by thehook, e.g. as seen in FIG. 26. The base leg of the hook is pivotablyconnected to the unit 44 for movement between an extended position(FIGS. 23, 24, 26) in which the hook extends away from the back surfaceand a stowed position (FIG. 25) in which the hook does not extend awayfrom the control unit. With the hook in the extended position the baseleg extends substantially perpendicularly to the back surface 58. Withthe hook in the stowed position the base leg is substantially parallelto the back surface and the distal leg nests in the pocket. When theunit is removed from the recess 44 in the siderail it may be hung on thesiderail by way of the hook, if desired, rather than returned to therecess. Although FIGS. 23-26 show a hooked control unit with both a base52 and an upper portion 50, the hooked variant of the unit 44 may alsobe constructed as a one-part (non-pivotable) control unit. In addition,the hooked unit may be used as a stand-alone unit, i.e. without therecess in the siderail.

FIGS. 27-28 show another embodiment of the control unit 44 having a base52 and an upper portion 50 pivotably connected to the base. The base 52of the illustrated control unit is configured as a clip 250. Theillustrated clip includes a pair of wings 252. The wings and the portionof the base that extends laterally between the wings define a spatialregion 254 whose perimeter has a shape approximately complementary tothe cross sectional shape of the siderail when viewed by an observerlooking in the longitudinal direction (e.g. from the head end toward thefoot end of the bed). As used herein, the shape is consideredapproximately complementary to the cross sectional shape of the siderailif the unit can be satisfactorily supported on the siderail by the clip.In the illustrated embodiment the shape is a “keyhole” shape similar tothe keyhole shape of the illustrated top portion 32′ of a siderail. Whenthe unit is removed from the recess 44 in the siderail it may be clippedon the siderail by way of the clip, if desired, rather than returned tothe recess. The clip is slidable along the siderail so that the controlunit can be easily repositioned along the length of the siderail.Although FIGS. 27-28 show a clip-on control unit with both a base 52 andan upper portion 50, the clip-on variant of the unit 44 may also beconstructed as a one-part (non-pivotable) control unit. In addition, theclip-on unit may be used as a stand-alone unit, i.e. without the recessin the siderail.

The siderail 22 has a flexible panel 72 which is coupled to the mainsiderail body 30 as shown in FIGS. 1-7 and 11-16. The flexible panel 72is less rigid than the main siderail body 30 so as to flex more readilythan the main siderail body 30 when contacted inadvertently by a patientthat is supported above the patient support deck 14 on mattress 16. Thehead end and foot end portions 74, 76 of flexible panel 72 are situatedwithin the opening 40 of body 30 and are coupled to rail portions 36, 38and to part of bottom rail portion 34. In other embodiments, panel 72may be coupled only to one or two of rail portions 34, 36, 38. The endedge regions of end portions 36, 38 of panel 72 may be trapped orsqueezed within a seam defined between molded housings that from part ofmain siderail body 30. A middle portion 78 of the flexible panel bowsoutwardly toward the patient support deck 14 and mattress 16. Panel 72is made of plastics material and, in some embodiments, has a uniformthickness throughout the expanse of panel 72. However, that is not tosay that panels having varying thickness could not be used. In theillustrative example, panel 72 is provided with a plurality of holes 80to increase the flexibility of panel 72.

The flexible panel 72 has a top edge 82 that is situated below, and thatis spaced-apart from, the top portion 32 of the main siderail body 30.In some embodiments, such as the one shown in FIGS. 11-14, at least aportion of a bottom edge 84 of the middle portion 78 of the flexiblepanel 72 is situated above, and is spaced-apart from, the bottom portion34 of the main siderail body 30. Siderail 22 is configured so that, whenthe siderail is in the raised position, a plane extending from the uppersurface of mattress 16 intersects the flexible panel 72 closer to thebottom of panel 72 than to the top of panel 72. That is, a large portionof the panel 72 is higher in elevation than the upper surface ofmattress 16 when the siderail 22 is raised, but some amount of the panel72 is below the upper surface of mattress 16. This configuration andarrangement of panel 72 insures that any portion of the patient's bodymoving sideways off of the upper surface of mattress 16 toward panel 72will contact panel 72. In actuality, it is the patient's elbow that isexpected to most often come into contact with panel 72. By providingsiderail 22 with flexible panel 72, the need to use additional siderailpads to cushion inadvertent contacts by the patient with the siderail islessened or even eliminated.

According to this disclosure, the flexible panel 72 may be translucentand may be able to be lit up by at least one light source (not shown).Thus, the flexible panel may be made of a material that provides a lightpipe type of effect. The at least one light sources may comprise, forexample, at least one light emitting diode. The at least one lightsource may be operable to light up the flexible panel in a first color,green for example, and to light the flexible panel in a second color,yellow or red for example. The light source may be a single LED that isoperable to shine light of different colors, such as green and amber orgreen and red. The different colors may correspond to alert conditionsof the bed or patient or may simply be selected for aesthetic purposes,for example, to match the color scheme of the patient room.

According to this disclosure, siderail 22 of the patient supportapparatus 10 also has a caregiver control unit 90. In some embodimentssuch as the one shown in FIGS. 1-7, 15 and 16, unit 90 is coupled to toprail portion 32 and hangs downwardly therefrom. In other embodiments,such as the one shown in FIGS. 11-14, unit 90 projects upwardly frombottom rail portion 34. In each of these embodiments, the flexible panel72 is configured to bow away from the caregiver control unit 90 andtoward the patient support deck 14 and mattress 16.

According to an aspect of this disclosure, the caregiver control unit 90has a housing 92 with recessed grooves 94 as shown in FIGS. 11-14. Userinputs 95 are situated within, or are associated with the grooves 94such that areas of the housing 92 adjacent the grooves inhibitinadvertent contact of the user inputs. In the illustrative example, theuser inputs 95 comprise field disturbance switches or sensors and/orcapacitive switches or sensors 96 as shown in FIGS. 13B and 13C. Theuser inputs 95 further comprises areas within grooves 94 that aretouched by the caregiver to control functions of the bed. These areasmay have indicia thereon to provide a visual cue to the caregiverregarding where to touch the groove to use the user input 96.

The recessed grooves 94 in the illustrative example each have asubstantially vertical orientation. Each groove 94 is shaped to have aconcave outwardly facing surface as shown best in FIG. 13B. Each of therecessed grooves 94 is shallower at end regions 98 of the respectivegroove as compared to a middle region 99 of the respective groove 94 asshown best in FIG. 13C. The shape and orientation of the recessedgrooves 94, along with the types of sensors 96 used, facilitates easycleaning of the caregiver control unit 94 by allowing for wipe downcleaning through the recessed grooves 94. The caregiver control unit 90has a graphical display screen 100 carried by the housing 92 above therecessed grooves 94.

Top rail portion 32 defines a generally horizontal axis 110 as shown inFIGS. 15 and 16. In some embodiments in which the caregiver control unit90 is coupled to the top rail portion 32, unit 90 is pivotable about thegenerally horizontal axis 110 out of opening 40 into an inclinedorientation as shown in FIG. 16. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 11-14,siderail 22 has an upwardly protruding portion 112 situated about midwaybetween a head end and foot end of the bottom rail portion 34. A cavity114, shown best in FIG. 14, is provided in the upwardly protrudingportion 112 and in the part of the bottom rail portion 34 beneath potion112. It should be noted that, conceptually, portion 112 may beconsidered part of portion 34, although is has been described herein asbeing another portion of body 30 that protrudes upwardly from portion34. The cavity 114 is sized and configured to receive the caregivercontrol unit 90 therein when the unit 90 is in a storage position asshown in FIG. 13A. An upper portion of the caregiver control unit 90 ispivotably coupled to an upper region of the upwardly protruding portion112 for pivotable movement about a generally horizontal axis 116 suchthat the caregiver control unit 90 is movable between the storageposition within the cavity 114 and a use position extending out of thecavity 114 as shown in FIG. 14. In the use position, screen 100 and userinputs 95 face generally upwardly which facilitates easier use of thecontrol unit 90 by the caregiver.

Although certain illustrative embodiments have been described in detailabove, variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit ofthis disclosure as described and as defined in the following claims.

1. An occupant support apparatus comprising a frame including anoccupant support deck above which an occupant is supportable, a siderailhaving a raised position in which at least a portion of the siderail ishigher in elevation than the occupant support deck, the siderail havinga recess therein; a control unit having a base and an upper portionwhich is pivotable about an axis relative to the base and is alsoseparable from the base, the control unit being movable relative to thesiderail between a first position in which at least a majority of thepatient control unit is received in the recess and a second position inwhich part of the control unit is received in the recess such that atleast a majority but less than all of the control unit resides outsidethe recess and extends past a perimeter of the siderail.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 in which the upper portion of the control unitincludes user inputs configured to be engaged by a user.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the first position is a lowest position,the second position is a highest position and the control unit slidesgenerally vertically within the recess when moving between the lowestand highest positions.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the firstposition is a lowest position, the second position is a highest positionand the control unit is positionable at one or more intermediatepositions between the lowest and highest positions and wherein the upperportion is pivotable about a vertically extending axis when the patientcontrol unit is no lower than the highest position.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein when the control unit is in the second position, thebase of the control unit can remain in the recess such that the upperportion of the control unit is pivotable about the axis relative to thebase.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 such that when the control unit is atthe second position and the upper portion of the control unit is pivotedabout the axis, part of the upper portion is situated over and above anupper surface of an end rail portion and/or a top rail portion of thesiderail so that the rail portion or portions resist movement of theunit away from the highest position toward the lowest position.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the base is connected to the upper portionby a laterally and longitudinally compliant pivotable connection.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 4, wherein user inputs of the control unit areaccessible to an occupant of the apparatus when the control unit is inthe highest, lowest and intermediate positions.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the control unit and the recess are configured suchthat the control unit can be removed from the recess, flipped around,and then reinserted into the recess in an orientation in which userinputs on the upper portion are inaccessible to the occupant.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit is removable from therecess altogether to be held by an occupant away from the siderail. 11.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises anelongated hand-held pendant and the recess comprises a verticallyoriented elongated recess that is substantially open at its top andfront and substantially closed at its sides, bottom, and back.